girl's name
Daniela
dah-NYEH-lah
- Origin Spanish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 76,120
the United States
#303
2025 births
Daniela means God is my judge, and its bearer survives a lions' den by that logic — the Book of Daniel turns on God judging rather than the king, which is what the name asserts.
- Daniela is a name of Spanish origin.
- Peaked in 2003, when 3,084 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,286 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1947.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Daniela over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1940s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 8 |
| 1950s | 71 |
| 1960s | 571 |
| 1970s | 1,495 |
| 1980s | 4,183 |
| 1990s | 12,238 |
| 2000s | 26,716 |
| 2010s | 16,349 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 7,051 |
What Daniela means
Daniela means God is my judge. The Hebrew joins a word for judgment to el, God, so the name names who does the judging rather than describing the bearer.
Where Daniela comes from
Daniela is the Spanish, Italian and Romanian feminine of Daniel, from the Hebrew Daniyyel — din, judgment, joined to el, God. Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, reads the writing on the wall, and survives a night among lions after refusing to stop praying. The book's argument is that God's judgment outranks the king's, which the name states directly. Danielle is the French feminine of the same name.
Daniela in use
Daniela peaked in the United States in 2003, when 3,084 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 303rd in the United States on 1,009 births, 824th in Ireland on 4, 1156th in England and Wales on 29 and 1429th in France on 25, across 76,120 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Daniela?
In 2025, Daniela was given to 1,009 babies in the United States, ranking #303 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Daniela is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Daniela is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Danièla | Danièla is a rare spelling of Daniela, written with a grave accent and recorded about 15 times, mostly in France. | 15 |
| Daniéla | Daniéla is a rare spelling of Daniela, written with an acute accent and recorded about 10 times, mostly in France. | 10 |
Names that peaked alongside Daniela
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Daniela also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Daniela over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Daniela
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Daniela in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Daniela
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Daniela — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Daniela
What does the name Daniela mean?
God is my judge — the Hebrew din, judgment, joined to el, God.
Is Daniela related to Danielle?
Yes — the Spanish and Italian feminine against the French one.
What is the lions' den story?
Daniel keeps praying after it is banned, is thrown to lions, and survives — God's judgment over the king's.
How popular is Daniela?
303rd in the United States, down from a 2003 peak of 3,084 births.
Is Daniela a girl's or a boy's name?
Daniela is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Daniela?
Daniela has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Daniela?
Daniela is usually shortened to Dani.
Is Daniela a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Daniela currently ranks #303 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.